5 best Steelers who were other teams’ seventh-round or later picks

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had many great players in their history. When looking specifically at draft picks, there are many who have made a huge impact on the team. Some of those players, although selected in various rounds, were not picks of the Pittsburgh Steelers but we’re acquired either by trade or through free agency.

After looking at the best players to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers as first-round draft picks that were selected by another franchise, it was requested to keep going into other rounds. For this reason, it’s time to finish things off with the seventh round or later since there used to be many more rounds. The following are the top five players since the 1970 merger based on their time with Pittsburgh even though they were a seventh-round pick (or later) of another team. Rather than rely completely on my own personal opinion, I took into consideration Pro Football Reference’s approximate value (AV) along Super Bowl victories from their time with the Steelers. (Note: Only players were selected to the Pro Bowl or All-Pro will have it listed.)

Other than the former first-round picks, this is arguably the best list.

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Honorable Mention: Duval Love

Guard
Draft: Pick 274 (Round 10) in 1985 (Los Angeles Rams)
Years with Steelers: 1992-1994
AV: 22
Pro Bowls: 1
Super Bowls: 0

Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Since he would have landed at least third or better and any other list in the series outside of the first round, Duval Love at least gets an honorable mention. After playing seven years with the Los Angeles Rams, Love came to the Steelers in 1992 and started all 48 regular season games and four postseason games in his three years in Pittsburgh. In 1994, Love was also a Pro Bowl selection.

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5. Preston Pearson

Running back
Draft: Pick 298 (Round 12) in 1967 (Baltimore Colts)
Years with Steelers: 1970-1974
AV: 27
Super Bowls: 1 (with Steelers)

SetNumber: X17881

After playing three years in Baltimore, Preston Pearson was part of the trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers which reunited him with his former defensive coordinator Chuck Noll. In five years in Pittsburgh, Pearson started 48 of 62 games where he had 2,243 rushing yards on 573 attempts and eight touchdowns as well as 687 receiving yards on 59 receptions and four touchdowns. Following the Steelers 1974 Super Bowl season, Pearson did not make the team has the Steelers chose to keep rookie running back Mike Collier instead. Pearson went on to play six more years in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.

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4. Henry Davis

Linebacker
Draft: Pick 288 (Round 11) in 1968 (New York Giants)
Years with Steelers: 1970-1973
AV: 28
Pro Bowls: 1
Super Bowls: 0

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

One of two players (with the other one coming later on the list) the Steelers received in a trade with the New York Giants in exchange for quarterback Dick Shiner, Henry Davis spent four years in Pittsburgh with the final two starting every game. A Pro Bowl selection in 1972, the end of Davis‘s career ahead of the 1974 season is clouded in mystery. Between a strike of the players during training camp and the emergence of rookie Jack Lambert, Davis was potentially losing his starting spot even without sustaining a serious neck injury/concussion during the preseason. Add in his wife suffering from Bell’s Palsy, Davis was waived by the team to start the season with the hope that he would return. Apparently Davis was recalled from waivers by the Steelers but no corresponding move was ever made and he was never added back to the roster and did not play in the NFL again. During his time in Pittsburgh, Davis started 33 to 56 games and had four interceptions.

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3. Bruce Van Dyke

Guard
Draft: Pick 174 (Round 12) in 1966 (Philadelphia Eagles)
Years with Steelers: 1967-1973
AV: 44
Pro Bowls: 1
Super Bowls: 0

Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY Sports

Although his AV since 1970 was only 26, Bruce Van Dyke deserve to be at this point on the list based on his impressive career in Pittsburgh. After one season in Philadelphia, Van Dyke was traded to the Steelers in 1967 where he played for seven seasons with 93 starts in 95 games. Van Dyke was a Pro Bowl selection in 1973. In 1974, Van Dyke was traded to the Green Bay Packers where he played three more seasons.

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2. John “Frenchie” Fuqua

Running back
Draft: Pick 273 (Round 11) in 1969 (New York Giants)
Years with Steelers: 1970-1976
AV: 41
Super Bowls: 2

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The other player involved coming from the New York Giants in exchange for Dick Shiner, Frenchie Fuqua played seven years with the Steelers as a member of two Super Bowl teams. Fuqua started 51 of 87 games where he had 2,942 rushing yards on 699 attempts and 21 touchdowns as well as another 1,236 receiving yards on 132 receptions and three touchdowns.

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1. Gary Anderson

Kicker
Draft: Pick 171 (Round 7) in 1982 (Buffalo Bills)
Years with Steelers: 1982-1994
AV: 55
Pro Bwol: 3 (with Steelers)
Super Bowls: 0

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Failing to win the kicking job his rookie year in Buffalo, Gary Anderson was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and appeared in all nine games of the strike-shortened season. Kicking 13 years in Pittsburgh, Anderson made 309 of 395 regular season field goals and 416 of 420 extra points. With Pro Bowls in 1983, 1985, and 1993, Anderson when I want to kick two years in Philadelphia, one in San Francisco, five in Minnesota where he was selected All-Pro in 1988, and two in Tennessee. In all, Gary Anderson played 23 seasons in the NFL from 1982 to 2004 and appeared in 353 regular season games and 22 postseason games.

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Those are the top five players for the Steelers who were drafted in the seventh round or later of the NFL draft but were selected by another team and acquired later by Pittsburgh. So how does the list look? Were the players placed in the proper order? Was there anyone else who should have been on the list? Make sure you leave your thoughts in the comments below.